There is a strong nationalist movement in Catalunya today, the Catalans are seeking independence from Spain. Recent elections delivered a separatist government in Catalunya. Madrid is insisting the constitution of Spain does not allow separation. One has to ask, what is different about Catalunya? Of course, reading about the history of Catalunya answers the question and it all ties into the architecture as well. There is so much history to discover, I am really trying to cut this history lesson short, I could drone on for some time and lose everyone.
Firstly, the Catalans speak their own language, as well as Spanish, of course. Catalan and Spanish both developed independently of each other; it is important to note that Catalan is not a dialect of Spanish. Both languages stemmed from Latin, the language of Roman occupation, which mingled with the language of the Celtiberians. The more common Romans legionnaires who settled in Catalunya spoke a more slangy and modern Latin, this was the origin of Catalan. The language of Provencal is also part of the mix, as Provencal was the language of the Frankish kings who ruled France and parts of northern Catalunya. Spanish originated from the more formal Latin used by the elite Romans in southern Spain, where they were engaged in silver mining and trade.
With regard to the origins of Barcelona, we begin with the Laietani, a Celtiberian tribe living on the coastal plain, these people fished and grew cereal crops. It must have been a significant grain growing region as there is archeological evidence of grain storage silos. Of course, the Laietani were overtaken by the Romans.
Barcelona began as a small settlement overlooking the harbour. The settlement was surrounded by Roman walls, some portions of the wall still exist today in the medieval core of the city. There was the usual Roman forum and the Temple of Augustus, of which a few columns are remaining. In the 1930s, the old Roman settlement was discovered while digging the foundation for a building. According to one of my guidebooks, this is the largest underground excavation in any ancient city in Europe. The settlement was recognized as a colony by Augustus in 15 BC. The settlement was referred to as Barcino, a shortened form of a long Roman name.
We visited the History Museum of Barcelona today. The old Roman ruins are underneath the Placa del Rei. The place was pretty much devoid of visitors, but it is really well done.
There are the old ruins of a Roman domus (house), a laundry, a facility for the dyeing of cloth, a fish processing area along with vats for the processing of garum (the Roman delicacy of fermented fish entrails etc.) and a winery, complete with presses, vats and storage facilities to hold 10,000 litres. No matter how many times we see this when visiting Roman ruins, we are always astonished by how far below today's ground level the old Roman ruins sit.
Placa del Rei
A lot of re-purposed materials form part of this wall, this is under Placa del Rei
The Roman Winery
With the collapse of the Roman Empire in the west, the Visigoths took control, they set up a court in Barcino, but then moved their court to Merida and finally to Toledo. The Visigoths had difficulty controlling the nobles of Catalunya. When the Moors conquered Spain and Catalunya, the peasants in Catalunya fled to the valleys of the Pyrenees and survived in small settlements, they were a free, hardworking people who were out of the reach of the Arabs.
Wilfred the Hairy - Guifre del Pelos (840 - 897)
A lot of what is written regarding Wilfred the Hairy is pure fiction, much of it involves fighting dragons and his unique feature, his legendary covering of hair, even on the soles of his feet, right. Hairy gained power by uniting several counties and became the first independent Count of Catalunya, (no longer under the rule of the Franks) he moved to Barcelona and the city became his administration capital. The idea of Catalan independence begins with Wilfred the Hairy, “a hero born of heroes.”
The peasants of Old Catalunya are largely associated with the imagery and symbolism of Catalunya: resistant, tough, suspicious and most importantly, free. An important distinction to note is that the feudal institutions that existed in Catalunya developed from a concern for the mutual rights and obligations of the nobles, clerics, peasants and workmen, this is the core of the Catalan national identity.
Although the nobles ground every last cent out of the peasants in taxes and dues, the peasants were freeholders, they owned the rights to their tiny plots of land. However, in the eleventh century, the aristocracy bought or took the peasants land, the peasants were now serfs or leaseholders, who grew crops and tended flocks but paid a substantial share to the landowners; thus, enriching the aristocrats.
As well as gouging the peasants, the aristocracy attacked churches, as the churches were also large land owners which needed the income, the church generally supported the peasants. The system was unsustainable; therefore, the first feudal monarch of Catalunya, Ramon Berenguer I, brought about a written bill of rights, the first of its kind in Europe. Any man, other than a serf, was legally equal to the nobility and any dispute had to be settled by an adjudicator. A system of pacts was set up, these were negotiated agreements between people. The pact system was important as it became the foundation of civic politics in Catalunya. However, the system did not free the serfs or restore land to the peasants, the peasants were often in revolt against the feudal system. The people also became obsessed with lawsuits, contract claims and appeals.
A nationalist ideology rose in the nineteenth century which harkened back to the feudal era, it was called the Renaixenca. Moderniste architecture was very much a part of Renaixenca, the rebirth of Catalan nationalism, drawing from the architecture of medieval Catalunya.
Farmers were at the core of the Catalunya self-image, the most important symbol was the masia or farmhouse. The farmhouse represented hard work, loyalty, patriotism, customs and bloodline, the state of being a Catalan and not a Spaniard.
The masia evolved from the fortified farms built by Roman settlers, which had heavy walls, watchtowers and an attached building for animals. The style was dependent upon the type of farming carried out, grain farms had more storage areas and fewer stables. The design was thick and rooted in the land, with heavy ceilings of oak beams resting on stone, the floors were brick or tile, the doors were heavy with iron hinges, locks and bolts, the windows were tiny. The masia was built for security and defence.
With the transition from rural to urban living in the twentieth century, the customs once symbolized by the masia are gone. Today, the majority are restored country homes that are owned by urban people.
Court Kings of Barcelona
In the twelfth century, Alfons the Warrior, the king of Aragon, died without an heir, the kingdom was left to an order of knights who chose the king’s brother, Ramir. To ensure the independence of Aragon from Castile, Ramir arranged the marriage of his daughter to the future Catalan king, Ramon Bernguer IV. This arrangement was acceptable to the nobles of Aragon, as they preferred the system of pacts that existed in Catalunya rather than rule by the monarchy of Castile.
Above the Roman ruins sits the Palau Reial, the royal palace. The museum showcases archaeological artifacts of this period but the real reason we wanted to visit the museum was to see the Salo de Tinell.
Salo del Tinell
This building is really magnificent. It is the main hall in the Palau Reial, built between 1359 and 1362, named for the vats (tines) used for storing grain. Again, we experience the imagery of plainness and shelter of the Cistercian monasteries. The building looks like a huge quonset, a building commonly found on farms in the prairies. It is spectacular because unreinforced masonry arches span a distance greater than 50 feet. There are six semicircular diaphragm arches that rise from low columns in the wall.
The Catholic Kings, Ferdinand and Isabella received Columbus here after he returned from his voyage in 1492. The building also held the trials of the Spanish Inquisition.
The few visitors that were in the museum floated right past the glass doors to this building, I just could not stand that they were missing this. When a Spanish man just looked through the glass, I opened the door and motioned him and his companions to enter. When they came out, I was thanked profusely while I pointed out the write-up about the building which sits on another wall and nobody sees it, this is a total shame.
The vaulting in here is amazing
The floor is actually stone but is covered with a wood platform floor
Back to the history, I was talking about the union of Catalunya and Aragon. Both Aragon and Catalunya retained their own laws, rights and customs. The combined power of the two kingdoms held out against the Castilians for several centuries. The kingdoms of Aragon and Catalunya became an empire and a great sea power, this was possible as the Moors were driven out in the thirteenth century, well before the fall of the Moors in the remainder of Moorish held Spain. The combined kingdom controlled Valencia by 1248, secured Sicily through a marriage and captured Sardinia.
Also sitting on the Placa del Rei is the Palau del Lloctinent, this houses the archives of the Crown of Aragon, this is one of the world’s greatest collections of medieval documents. The highlight of this palace is the coffered ceiling over the staircase.
Palau del Lloctinent, coffered ceiling
Mirador del Rei Marti, view from Palau del Lloctinent
Bell tower of a church viewed from Palau del Lloctinent
Views of random gargoyles behind Placa del Rei
I will suspend the history portion for now and take it up again tomorrow when we visit the government buildings of Barcelona and Catalunya. Now, we will skip ahead several centuries to get a start on Modernisme, all because of another gem of a building that we visited today, one of the early Modernisme buildings in Barcelona.
Modernisme
Modernisme was the term the Catalans used to define the architectural style as well as the entire literary, musical and visual arts culture of the period 1890-1910. The terminology used in England and France was Art Nouveau.
The most poignant of Modernisme in Catalunya was architecture and the decorative arts of iron forging, ceramics, fine woodwork, stained glass and the use of brick. The decorative arts were traditional Catalan crafts, practised by extraordinarily accomplished craftsmen.
Barcelona had the architects, the skilled craftsmen and the wealthy class who wanted to leave their mark on the city with fine buildings. Modernisme reached to the past for inspiration, from Gothic and Arabic design, but it sought to transform rather than merely copy the styles.
Modernisme was adventurous, the architects used techniques from the past but in precise and daring applications that could surpass their original uses. The craft of precise brick laying, iron forging and the extraordinary level of ceramic production are lost to us today.
Access to the remarkable Catalan craftsmen is what makes Moderniste architecture look so rich, yet so strange, the fantasy becomes believable in the form of architecture.
Remember that all of this is tied to the history of Catalunya, with its roots in the Catalan Gothic architecture. The history of this place had a significant impact on the architects and what it meant to be Catalan.
Lluis Domenech i Montaner, 1849-1923
Domenech, the son of a bookbinder, he was a gifted draftsman, an architectural historian, a teacher, he also ran a publishing firm and later in life, he was a Catalan politician. He was interested in the origins of architecture, he sought to bring the past forward in architecture and to speculate about the future. Domenech had a full understanding of the materials of architecture, to the extent of any engineer of the time. He also fully grasped the materials of finishing and the decorative arts of stone carving, iron forging and fine joinery.
Domenech employed a daring use of historical elements and brilliantly fused Catalan craft traditions with his desire for new forms. He introduced decorative stylized nature, often using floral ornamentation.
Universal Exposition Café-Restaurant - Castell dels Tres Dragons
Domenech designed one of the early Moderniste buildings, the café restaurant in Citadel Park which was to open for the Universal Exposition in 1888, although it was not complete by the time of the Exposition. Today the building is known as Castell dels Tres Dragons - Castle of the Three Dragons, it houses the Museum of Natural Science.
Domenech used plain brick, which was not common at the time as brick was considered to be ugly and stupid. Brick was generally faced with stucco or terra cotta. However, there is nothing plain about this brick building, the bricks create a play of light and shadow. Domenech considered brick to be ‘clear and Catalan’ made from the earth of the homeland.
Battlements are finished with ochre-glazed ceramic crowns, ceramic escutcheons painted in blue on white, a parody of chivalric history.
The brick work is fantastic
The ceramic escutcheons display images of plants and bugs
The entrance is a flat Catalan arch, just visible at the bottom, above are Moorish arches, then three-bay Palladian windows
Barcelona is a great walking city, we often overestimate distance and walk well past where we should turn. The medieval area is due for much more exploration if we get time. The tiny streets that veer off here and there are full of interest. We don’t even bother with our map, we just walk and muddle our way through to our destination.
Tonight we went to a butcher shop just down the street, the place is so busy that customers have to take a ticket and await their turn, it was just packed in there. They have awesome products, John and I know a few numbers in Catalan and we also use our fingers just in case our pronunciation is unintelligible.
More walking and more architecture are on deck for tomorrow. The buildings here fascinate us and we stand around gawking forever and make sure we get the view from all sides. As I watch people pass by without any interest in these buildings, I am glad we do have an interest or I don’t really know what we would do, as we are really not very good at just hanging out.
